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Families scramble to deal with shutdown

Families flocked to the Pearl City and Kaneohe commissary on hearing it was to shut down after Tuesday, until further notice.

"It's pretty stressful because we are dependents. It's hard. We have to stock up on our groceries. We probably spent about $300 because we don’t know when it will be open again," said Mikyla Young.

Civilian workers at all bases across the state from Pearl Harbor, to Schofield Barracks, Wheeler and Kaneohe reported to work to get the official word about the shutdown.

The spouse of a civilian hazmat worker at Tripler who was angry at the prospect of being forced to survive on one income, lashed out.

"I don’t think Congress should be paid if over 800,000 employees are not going to be paid. I think Congress is very inept at this moment. They need to do a better job of helping people of the United States,” said Jean Davis.

By noon Tuesday, close to 1,000 federal technicians - referred to as the backbone of the Hawaii National Guard - were sent home.

A couple hundred active duty and reserve officers remained on the job, disheartened.

"There are a number of people men and women in the army who wear the uniform Monday through Friday. They are full-time members of the National Guard but technically they are DOD civilians and they were all furloughed," said Lt. Col Chuck Anthony.

Government shutdown to interrupt military commissary service

Government shutdown to interrupt military commissary service

Families flocked to the Pearl City and Kaneohe commissary on hearing it was to shut down after Tuesday, until further notice.

"It's pretty stressful because we are dependents. It's hard. We have to stock up on our groceries. We probably spent about $300 because we don’t know when it will be open again," said Mikyla Young.

A KITV4 News viewer said there was a line Tuesday before noon at the commissary at Marine Corps Base Hawaii at Kaneohe Bay ahead of its closing. The line for the cash registers begins at the front door.

The Defense Commissary Agency based at Fort Lee, Va.. says only overseas commissaries will remain open following the failure of Congress to pass a spending plan.

The agency says domestic commissaries are staying open for business Tuesday, but only to reduce the amount of perishable goods on hand. Domestic stores will be closed Wednesday.

The Defense Commissary Agency is responsible for running the commissaries for all branches of the military.

About 12 million military personnel, retirees and their families are eligible to shop at commissaries, where they typically save more than 30 percent compared with commercial grocery stores -- saving on everything from cereal to dog food.